No motion detection recordings for over a week following 30 minute power outage.

[philthedisc]

I setup an Arlo Pro2 Wireless Home Security Camera System CCTV 3 Camera Kit, VMS4330P plus an extra camera for a vulnerable relative back in September 2020 and it has worked flawlessly savings recordings for up to 7 days in the cloud until last Monday 1st July 2024, when there was a 30 minute power outage. Since then there have been no motion detection recordings at all. The system has come back online as I can see the live still image on Video Settings for each camera. Coincidentally, I've seen on the support page that there is an ongoing issue with recordings for Arlo Pro 2 cameras all week long as well, so am wondering if the power outage is a red herring. As I am located 100s of miles away, I am not sure what I can do to fix it as it seems I must be at the location to perform adding back removed devices, so I've not yet tried removing devices. The support phone number which I called back in 2020 does not seem to be in use any more and I cannot find any email support either. If you have some suggestions, I would be very pleased to hear. Thanks in advance.

[philthedisc]

@BrookeN and @jguerdat 

From my remote location, I've decided to see what the workflow looks like by removing one camera that is located in the same room as the base station about 2 metres away.

Am using my.arlo.com and get to step 6-9 which is not quite accurate as it suggests using the app, then choosing model type - I choose Pro 2. Then told to insert ethernet then power cable into base station, but this has been the case for all of the time, so am assuming that's ok. Then it says searching for Arlo Devices, but every time after about 2 minutes, goes to "Your Base Station could not be discovered". From my location I am of course unable to check if the Power and Internet Globes are green. Also, I've not yet chosen Factory reset Base Station. There's also no mention on the screen that I have to do anything while it's searching. Is that when I should be pressing buttons on the base station and camera ?

Can you send me any instructions for Factory resetting the Base Station?

[BrookeN]

Here is the link to reset the basestation:

https://www.arlo.com/nl_nl/support/faq/1057976/How-can-I-reset-my-Arlo-SmartHub-or-base-station-to-t...

[jguerdat]

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@philthedisc wrote:

Can you send me any instructions for Factory resetting the Base Station?

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Don't do anything yet. Being remote means you simply can't proceed with almost any troubleshooting. 

Since you're remote there's no chance of discovering the base nor of being able to connect a camera. Both require physical location as well being on the same network. Since you've removed a camera you must be present to be able to add it back.

Also, for these cameras you don't even need to use the app. You simply press the base sync button briefly (don't hold it) and then the camera button. The app isn't needed for this to happen.

Anyway, do NOT reset the base nor remove any more devices. Once you're at home, try to  add the camera back. Depending on how that goes, nothing else may be needed.

[philthedisc]

Thanks @jguerdat and @BrookeN 

Thanks for the advice that I or a neighbour now need to be onsite to do this. If I understand your advice correctly, there's no need to use either the app or my.arlo.com to add the cameras back. 

So, should I remotely remove all the cameras using my.arlo.com, and ask a neighbour to physically remove the cameras and resync close to the base station and put them back, and I should then be able to see all 4 cameras again on my.arlo.com and they will have been factory reset and ready to record again?

[BrookeN]

You may just need to re-add one camera and that may be all that is needed. If it does not resolve it then you would need to remove the cameras and add them back onto the account. 

[jguerdat]

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@philthedisc wrote:

Thanks for the advice that I or a neighbour now need to be onsite to do this. If I understand your advice correctly, there's no need to use either the app or my.arlo.com to add the cameras back. 

So, should I remotely remove all the cameras using my.arlo.com, and ask a neighbour to physically remove the cameras and resync close to the base station and put them back, and I should then be able to see all 4 cameras again on my.arlo.com and they will have been factory reset and ready to record again?

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No, you don't have to use the app to add the cameras to the base. The base must use the app to be added, though.

I would try the advice @BrookeN provided first.

[philthedisc]

@jguerdat and @BrookeN 

I am now at the location and have physically moved one of the cameras that is still part of the system close to the base station (VMB4500) and pressed sync quickly on the base station followed by pressing sync on the camera. Result is that all cameras are now recording again!

However, doing the same with the one camera that I removed from the system has not so far been successful. It does not automatically become known to the system without using any app or web interface. If I use the add device workflow using my.arlo.com, I'm informed that the base station could not be found. If I use the device workflow from my phone, it just says no devices found. I have to say as well, it is pretty hit and miss whether the camera starts flashing blue after pressing sync on the camera while the blue light continues flashing on the base station. Any thoughts on how to add back this device? 

[jguerdat]

You're not trying to add the base again, are you? You would just add the camera. Obviously, the base must be found first. The simplest way to add the camera to the base (assuming you can verify it no longer is shown as a connected devices) is the use the brief base sync button press and then the camera button like you did before.

You probably should try reinserting the camera battery and maybe swapping batteries to ensure the camera and battery are in a known condition.

[philthedisc]

I've swapped out the battery with a known full battery and follow the workflow on the phone app. It's always hit and miss with the camera sync button. Sometimes needs up to 10x 2 second presses for the camera blue light to start flashing, but every time the phone says no Arlo Devices found. 

If I try the my.arlo.com approach, it always tells me it cannot find the base station and to look for Power and Globe leds being green, but I have a VMB4500 with a single usually blue LED !

Does the backend still think it's there after I removed it ? Serial number is 

What else can I do? I'm reluctant to factory reset the base in case I lose all the cameras I've just got working again.

[BrookeN]

Did you try to factory reset just the one camera you are still seeing the same behavior with?

[philthedisc]

The device I remotely removed does not want to be added back whatever I try to do. Even pressing and holding the sync button on the camera for 15+ seconds and trying all the approaches that have been suggested does not add the camera back. In all cases the blue flashing lights on the base station and camera behave correctly, as if syncing to eachother, but the camera does not appear in my account.

[StephenB]

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@philthedisc wrote:

Even pressing and holding the sync button on the camera for 15+ seconds 

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That won't work with the Pro 2.  The hardware reset is only available on the newer cameras (Pro 3 and up, Ultra, and Essentials).